ஊரடங்கை மீறினால் 14 நாட்கள் தனிமை!

2.5.2020

சென்னையில், ஊரடங்கு விதிகளை மீறுவோருக்கு, 100 ரூபாய் அபராதம் விதிக்கப்படுவதுடன், 14 நாட்கள் தனிமையில் வைக்கப்படுவர்' என, சென்னை மாநகராட்சி எச்சரித்துள்ளது.

மாநகராட்சி கமிஷனர் அறிவிப்பு: சென்னையில், நோய் பரவலை கட்டுப்படுத்த, ஊரடங்கு விதிமுறைகளை, பொது மக்கள் கண்டிப்பாக கடைப்பிடிக்க வேண்டும். பொது வெளியில், 1 மீட்டர், சமூக இடைவெளியை கடைப்பிடிக்க வேண்டும். வெளியில் வருவோர், கண்டிப்பாக முகக் கவசம் அணிய வேண்டும். கிருமி நாசினியால், கைகளை சுத்தம் செய்ய வேண்டும்.

கடைகளுக்கு, நிறுவனங்களுக்கு வருவோர் கைகளை சுத்தப்படுத்த, கிருமி நாசினி வழங்க வேண்டும். விதிகளை மீறும், கடைகள், நிறுவனங்களுக்கு, 'சீல்' வைக்கப்படும்; உரிமம் ரத்து செய்யப்படும். ஊரடங்கு விதிகளை மீறுபவர்களுக்கு, 100 ரூபாய் அபராதம் விதிக்கப்படுவதுடன், 14 நாட்கள் தனிமைப்படுத்தப்படுவர். இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறியுள்ளார்.

அனுமதி சீட்டு: மாநகராட்சிக்கு வர வேண்டாம்

Added : மே 02, 2020 02:03

சென்னை : 'வெளி மாநிலங்கள், வெளி மாவட்டங்கள் செல்ல, அவசர பயண அனுமதி சீட்டு பெறுவதற்காக, யாரும் அலுவலகத்துக்கு வர வேண்டாம்' என, சென்னை மாநகராட்சி தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

சென்னை மாநக ராட்சி வெளியிட்டு உள்ள அறிக்கை:முன் கூட்டியே நிச்சயம் செய்த திருமணம், அவசர மருத்துவ சிகிச்சை, மரணம் ஆகியவற்றில் பங்கேற்க ரத்த தொடர்புடையவர்களுக்கு மட்டும், வெளி மாநிலங்கள், மாவட்டங்களுக்கு செல்ல, அனுமதி சீட்டு வழங்கப்படுகிறது. அரசின் வழிகாட்டுதல்படி, அவசர பயண அனுமதி சீட்டு வழங்கும் அதிகாரம், மின்னணு அனுமதி சீட்டு கட்டுப்பாட்டு அறைக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. தேவைப்படுபவர்கள், 'http://tnepass.tnega.org/ என்ற இணையதளம் வழியாக விண்ணப்பித்து, அவசர பயண அனுமதி சீட்டு பெற்றுக் கொள்ளலாம்.அனுமதி சீட்டு பெற, மாநகராட்சி அலுவலகத்துக்கு யாரும் வர வேண்டாம்.

ஓய்வு பெற்றவர்களுக்கு, 'செக்' வீட்டில் வழங்கிய அதிகாரிகள்

Added : மே 01, 2020 23:29

தஞ்சாவூர் : கும்பகோணம் கோட்டத்தில் பணியாற்றி, ஓய்வு பெற்ற, போக்குவரத்து ஊழியர்களின் வீடுகளுக்கு, அதிகாரிகள் நேரில் சென்று, பண பலன்களை வழங்கினர்.

அரசு போக்குவரத்து கழகம், கும்பகோணம் கோட்டத்தில், திருச்சி, புதுக்கோட்டை, காரைக்குடி, கும்பகோணம், கரூர், நாகப்பட்டினம் ஆகிய, ஆறு மண்டலங்கள் உள்ளன. இந்த மண்டலங்களில் பணியாற்றிய டிரைவர்கள், கண்டக்டர்கள், தொழில்நுட்ப பணியாளர்கள் என, 271 பேர், மார்ச் மற்றும் ஏப்ரல் மாதங்களில் ஓய்வு பெற்றனர்.ஊரடங்கால் இவர்களுக்கான பணி ஓய்வு சான்றிதழையும், சேமநல நிதிக்கான செக்கையும், ஊழியர்கள் அலுவலகத்தில் வந்து பெற முடியாத சூழல் இருந்தது.

இதையடுத்து, 271 ஊழியர்களின் வீடுகளுக்கும், அந்தந்த கிளை மேலாளர்கள் நேரில் சென்று, பணி ஓய்வு பெற்றதற்கான சான்றிதழ், பாராட்டு சான்றிதழ், ஓய்வு கால சேமநல நிதிக்கான, 'செக்' ஆகியவற்றை வழங்கி, அவர்களுக்கு பொன்னாடை போர்த்தி, வாழ்த்து தெரிவித்தனர்

State and Centre differ on red zones

Karnataka’s list has 14 districts, as opposed to three on the Centre’s list

02/05/2020, KARNATAKA
BUREAU,BELAGAVI/BENGALURU

Kalaburagi is on the State’s COVID-19 red zone district list.By Special Arrangement

Red zones

Centre’s list: Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, and Mysuru

State’s list: Bagalkot, Belagavi, Bengaluru Urban, Bidar, Chickballapur, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Dharwad, Gadag, Kalaburagi, Mandya, Mysuru, Tumakuru, and Vijayapura

The list released on Friday by the Union government on red, orange and green zone districts has only three from Karnataka figuring in the first category. As per the State’s categorisation, the number stands at 14. This is because the guidelines on categorisation vary, and the State government is now examining the issue and will take a fresh call on it soon.

Karnataka now has only three districts in red zone — Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, and Mysuru — according to the Centre. The districts in the red zone on the State list are Bagalkot, Belagavi, Bengaluru Urban, Bidar, Chickballapur, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Dharwad, Gadag, Kalaburagi, Mandya, Mysuru, Tumakuru, and Vijayapura.

As per the Centre’s classification, there are three red zone districts, 13 orange zone districts, and 14 green zone districts in the State. This, officials said, is the result of the new criteria for deciding zones. Factors deciding zoning include incidence and doubling rate of cases, extent of testing, surveillance feedback, and rate of recovery. An officer working with the Health Department said there was no clarity yet on the issue.

Munish Moudgil, who is in charge of the State COVID-19 war room, said the Centre’s criteria was drawn up recently. “Karnakata had an existing criteria. Besides this, the Union Government clearly says that States can add districts to the red or orange zones. The State government is examining the new guidelines and will take a call on the matter,” he said.

According to the State government’s classification as on Friday, there are 14 districts in the red zone which have at least one case reported in the past 14 days. There are four districts in the orange zone, where there are no cases have been reported in 14 days, but at least one was reported in the 15-28 day period. Twelve districts are in the green zone, not reporting a single case in 28 days.

Unions call for job security, reduction in working hours

Govt. urged not to extend eight-hour working day

02/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,BENGALURU

Amid an unprecedented lockdown necessitated by a pandemic, May Day took on a different meaning for the working class that is now battling job losses, pay cuts, likely extended working hours, and a host of other challenges they were not prepared for.

Participate from home

On Friday, the celebrations were marked by the struggles of surviving the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. The All-India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) saw weavers, construction workers, ASHA workers, school bus drivers, and street vendors, among others, participate from home holding placards. An AIUTUC release also spoke about the plight of thousands of migrant workers who are being forced to walk back home for days on end, having lost work, some even losing their lives.

Central trade unions across segments, under the banner of the Joint Committee of the Trade Unions (JCTU), came together to mark the 134th May Day, urging the government not to extend the eight-hour working day.

“At a time when the unemployment rate is 23% in the country, it is only apt that the working day should be reduced to six hours to sustain, create employment, and revive the economy in general,” a JCTU release said.

Workers across different industrial areas such as Doddaballapur, Peenya, Bommasandra, Jigani, Hoskote, and Whitefield, as well as other unions, also marked May Day with flag hoisting ceremonies.

AITUC marked the day with a flag hoisting ceremony with the volunteers who are in the frontline of the relief work being undertaken by the trade unions by distributing food to migrant and construction workers in the city. A meeting resolved to defend the working class rights for income, job security, and to shorten the working day to six hours.

Online protest against PG medical, dental fee hike planned

02/05/2020, JAYASIMHA K.R.,BENGALURU

The State government’s decision on Friday to hike fees for postgraduate medical and dental seats in private colleges for the 2020-21 academic year has students up in arms. The Medical Service Centre (MCS), Karnataka, and All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) have organised an online protest on Saturday that will see doctors, medical students and PG aspirants holding placards on social networking sites, urging the government to withdraw the decision.

MCS and AIDSO have urged the government to immediately withdraw the hike and also increase the number of seats for PG in all government medical colleges. Sithara H.M. of AIDSO said that a fee hike at a time when the entire country is reeling under the effects of the pandemic was unacceptable and undemocratic. “At this juncture, we cannot even take this issue to streets and the government is suppressing dissent using the lockdown as a shield,” she said.

On Friday, the government announced its decision to hike PG medical and dental fees for institutional quota by 30% and government quota seats by 20% for both dental and medical streams.

Priyanka J.P., another medical PG aspirant, said that she had expected a 10% hike, which is generally done every year, and had planned and arranged the amount based on that. “However, everything has changed now and I will have to change my plans accordingly,” she said.

The seat matrix was released late April 30 night and the last date option entry for eligible candidates was May 2. “This is undemocratic and unfair, that too when there is complete lockdown. We hardly have any time to think and plan,” she added.

Experts warn that seats may go vacant

K.S. Nagesh, former member, Dental Council of India, and former principal of R.V. Dental College, Bengaluru, said that the government should have approved only a 10% hike. “Colleges have to pay salaries and bear many other expenses and hence a 10% hike is acceptable. But, at the same time, we should also take into account the hardship that parents and students are facing,” he said. He also warned that due to the hike, a situation may arise where seats may go vacant as many people cannot afford to pay so much.

Managements of private colleges maintain that they only got half of what their long standing demand was. M.R. Jayaram, chairman, Ramaiah Medical College, argued that without the hike, private medical colleges “would be doomed”. “Our demand was a 40-50% hike. The committee appointed by the government recommended a 30-40% hike but we didn’t get that either,” said Mr. Jayaram.

S. Kumar, Chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education & Research, said the government was probably trying to narrow the huge gap between fee structures in private colleges affiliated to RGUHS and deemed to be universities. “I am surprised by the hike of 20-30% at this juncture, but that was a long standing demand,” he said.

Medical team recounts containment zone experience

“ We got tremendous support from the residents of K.K. Pudur”

02/05/2020, KARTHIK MADHAVAN,COIMBATORE

The team from Coimbatore Corporation's Urban Primary Health Centre in K.K. Pudur that attended to residents' needs in the first COVID-19 containment zone in the city.S. Siva Saravanan

When medical officer Lakshmi Bharathi picked up her mobile phone to answer a call on March 19, little did she realise that the news to be conveyed to her would change how the medical team at the K.K. Pudur Urban Primary Health Centre would work in the days to follow. The team worked for a month and a half since then in that area, and the containment zone restrictions were ordered to be lifted on Thursday night.

The call from Coimbatore Corporation Health Officer K. Santhoshkumar said a person from the area had reported positive for COVID-19.

A girl from the area who had returned from Spain had tested positive for the corona virus, making it the first case in Coimbatore.

After taking advice and getting personal protection kits from Dr. Santhoshkumar, the team on March 20 started going door-to-door in the girl’s neighbourhood to check if anybody complained of fever or showed COVID-19 symptoms.

“When the news reached me and I relayed it to the team, we knew we will be in the forefront. That did not scare us,” says Dr. Bharathi, speaking on behalf of urban health nurses P. Venkateswari, A. Thangamani and A. Prema.

As the team went door-to-door, it was only welcomed. “Gates of apartments and palatial houses that were hitherto closed to us, opened up as people cooperated,” she says. “In an apartment, the residents were so kind that they served tea to all of us,” adds Ms. Venkateswari.

That the medical team had a record of all pregnant mothers and feeding mothers only helped ease things as several faces were familiar.

While going door-to-door the only problem the team faced was sweat and heat as the members were covered from head to toe in protective gear. “Even drinking water became difficult,” Ms. Venkateswari recalls.

“In a few cases, the people called us to ask if we could check on families that went into self-quarantine,” says Ms. Thangamani.

The COVID-19 work only added to the team’s work burden and that meant long hours at the centre. “Even as we were engaged in containing the spread of the virus, we oversaw five deliveries,” says Dr. Bharathi.

And then there were adjustments that they had to make to their working style as well. “Each of us in the team took an additional set of clothes to the centre. After returning from the containment zone, we would bathe and change into new set of clothes,” says Ms. Prema.

During this period, the team got support from family as well. “My husband took charge of cooking breakfast,” Ms. Venkateswari says. “My husband started cleaning the house and even doing dishes,” adds Ms. Thangamni.

Being the first Corporation medical team to work in containment zone also had some advantages. “When Podanur saw a few COVID-19 cases, we were the first ones whom the medical team there called to ask how to go about performing the additional duty. In that way, we were kind of mentors,” recall Ms. Prema and Thangamani.

Coimbatore district moves from red to orange zone

Containment zone restriction lifted in K.K. Pudur

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,COIMBATORE

A man scans the QR code to get travel pass at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Friday, during the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19.M. Periasamy

District Collector K. Rajamani announced on Thursday that the district has moved from red to orange zone, based on “multi-factorial criteria” issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The containment zone restriction has been lifted in K.K. Pudur.

Some of the factors that Mr. Rajamani said might have helped include - the number of current active cases is only seven, the number of persons discharged is 134, there has been no new case in the last eight days, and the number of new cases in the last 21 days was 15. Additionally, he said: “Of the 26 containment zones in the district, two-thirds saw no new case in the last 15 days and the administration had lifted the containment zone restriction in K.K. Pudur 28 days after the discharge of the COVID-19 positive person belonging to the area, from hospital.”

Sources in the district administration added that of the seven active COVID-19 cases, six were at a private hospital and another was at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital. They would be ready for discharge on Monday.

Though the movement to the orange zone would help the district gain some advantages or relaxation of rules, after the May 2 Cabinet meeting, this was not the time to let down guard, Mr. Rajamani said.

Meanwhile the district administration continued lifting about 300 samples from people at containment zones and peripheries every day. It would continue to monitor the district borders to restrict entry of people from other districts, particularly from places were the number of cases was high.

If it found people showing symptoms of influenza like infection, severe acute respiratory infection or COVID-19, the administration would take them to quarantine facilities it had set up across the district.

Members of the public and industry association have demanded ease of lockdown restrictions to resume commercial or industrial activity.

The district administration had issued orders in a few cases and would continue to do so, keeping in mind the State Government’s guidelines.

The Collector, however, clarified that the district moving into the orange zone would not entail relaxation of the rules in force.

Tiruppur has four patients in hospital

Meanwhile, Tiruppur district has only four patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

A 14-year-old boy from Avinashi and a 55-year-old man were discharged from ESI Hospital on Friday. Out of the 112 confirmed cases in the district, 108 recovered and were discharged as of Friday, Health Department sources said. On Thursday, 15 patients from Tiruppur district were discharged.

On Friday, Tiruppur District Administration declared Avinashi Block as orange zone, following the discharge of the last patient from the Block. On Thursday, Dharapuram Block was declared as orange zone.

Shops in bazaar area in Salem function on rotation basis

02/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,SALEM

To prevent crowd from gathering in Shevapet Bazaar area and to ensure physical distance among the public, the shops in the area functioned on rotation basis for the past few days.

The Shevapet bazaar is one of the important business areas in the district and wholesale dealers of grocery items operate from the bazaaar.

Though physical distance was mandated, huge crowd turned up at the market every day to get grocery items for retail sales and for personal use.

Hence, in consultation with the district administration, the shops in the bazaar agreed to operate on rotation basis. The shops on left side of the bazaar would function one day and the shops on the opposite side would function the next day.

Traders here said that they advised the public to stand inside the boxes drawn on the ground to ensure physical distance. They also emphasised the public to wear masks.

S.K.Periyaswami, district president of Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu said that the traders had been advised to wear masks and they had requested the public not to bring children to the bazaar. Earlier, there were difficulties in terms of vehicle parking and unloading of goods. However, operation of shops on rotation basis had eased this. The traders had been told not to sell products to persons not wearing masks. They had also been advised not to hike prices.

T.N. places order for 4.5 lakh RT-PCR testing kits

State has one lakh kits in stock

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 testing figures have been on the rise in the last few weeks. The State currently has a stock of one lakh RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing kits in its hospitals and has placed an order for 4.5 lakh more, according to officials of the Health Department.

The number of samples being tested has increased, with the number of samples being tested in a day crossing 9,000 in the last two days. In Chennai alone, over 3,000 samples are being tested a day.

Phased arrival

The State has so far tested 1,29,363 samples. “We have placed orders for 4.5 lakh more kits, and the order is expected to arrive in a phased manner. Of this, two lakh is expected on Monday,” an official of the Health department said.

“One kit, with a PCR probe and RNA extraction tool, is for one RT-PCR test,” he said. An official said that the Chennai Corporation was planning to scale up testing in the coming days.

Madurai and Virudhunagar districts remain in red zone

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,MADURAI BUREAU

Except Madurai and Virudhunagar, the remaining eight districts in south Tamil Nadu moved from red to orange zone giving a relief to health officials, civic and respective Collectors on Friday.

According to the medical bulletin released by the State government, out of 10, only Madurai and Virudhunagar were classified in red zones as on May 1 in southern districts.

Theni district, which accounted for 43 positive patients, has discharged 37 persons so far. The last case reported positive was on April 16.

Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram had less positive cases in the last 10 to 15 days. While only Tirupathur was the hotspot in Sivaganga district, Ramanathapuram suffered a jolt as a few areas including Paramakudi and Kilakarai had to be identified as containment zones. While the total number of positive patients from Ramanathapuram stood at 18, effective management brought in some respite, officials said.

In Madurai, the number of positive cases, which was revolving around 60 till last week, rose up to 75, as on a single day 15 cases were reported. The numbers piled up on May 1 and the tally stood at 87. In Virudhunagar district, the number of positive cases was 32 and effective steps to contain the pandemic started fetching results and the last positive case was reported on April 25. The number of discharged persons was 19 so far.

Though the number of positive patients in Dindigul district touched 81 till date, the number of patients recovered and discharged stood at 71. Tirunelveli, which initially saw a steep rise in the number of positive cases, has 63 cases. Gradually, the number started declining and till date 56 among them have been discharged. In Tenkasi district, the numbers were below 10 in the beginning. Suddenly, the tally went up to 38. The number of discharged cases was 5 till date and the administration had not reported any fresh case after April 25.

The situation appears comfortable in Thoothukudi district where the number of patients admitted was 27. As on May 1, only one patient was under treatment while 25 were discharged. One patient succumbed to the virus. In Kanniyakumari, the number of positive patients stood at 16. Till date, the number of discharged patients stood at 11.

According to a Health Department official in Chennai, the zonal classification of districts were based on hotspot analysis communicated by the Central government. It is multi-factorial and takes various aspects into consideration. Every Monday, the classification of zones would be updated, he added.

Three test positive

Three people, including a house surgeon from Kerala, working at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) tested positive for COVID-19 here on Friday. This takes the total count of cases to 87.

Two others, included a 65-year-old woman from Jaihindipuram and a 25-year-old pregnant woman from Melur tested positive.

While the contact for one of the patient has been established, the district administration is completing the process of contact tracing for two others. Two other people from Tirumangalam and Melur were discharged from GRH after testing negative for COVID-19.

MKU Registrar in-charge resigns

02/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER, MADURAI

Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) Registrar in-charge N. Sankar tendered his resignation on Friday afternoon after serving for about five months in office.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Sankar said that he wants to get back to his life of teaching and science. “I want to get back to my routine job of teaching and research - two things that I enjoy immensely. I have done justice to the chair I occupy,” he said.

The last person to permanently hold the post of MKU Registrar was V. Chinniah who retired in June 2019.

Ever since, two registrars in-charge have been appointed by the administration.

Although the administration had called for an initial scrutiny of candidates for the post in June, interviews for the post have been postponed at least three times.

In January 2020, the university decided to re-advertise for the post of registrar after interviewing 16 candidates as the Syndicate members found the candidates unsatisfactory.

MKU Vice-Chancellor (V-C) M. Krishnan said that if it was not for COVID-19, the administration would have found a permanent replacement for the position.

“Unfortunately, we have to wait until Monday to appoint someone to take the position temporarily after consulting with the Syndicate,” he said.

He added that during his tenure, Mr. Sankar had cooperated well.

HC expresses shock over Madurai Bench staff not available in station

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, CHENNAI

The Madras High Court administration has expressed shock over some of its staff in the Madurai Bench having moved out of the headquarters despite the lockdown imposed by the government across the State to fight COVID-19 and instructions issued by the court to remain in station and be available for duty on call.

In a circular, Registrar (Administration) V. Devanathan recalled that the High Court’s Registrar General C. Kumarappan had on March 24 permitted all employees of the High Court in Chennai and Madurai to stay at home to safeguard them and their families from the threat posed by COVID-19.

He had instructed the High Court staff to remain in station and be available to attend emergency calls since the court had decided to hear extremely urgent cases alone, through video conferencing, with the assistance of skeleton staff. This required the presence of technical staff, stenographers and others.

 The circular read: “It has been brought to the notice of the Registry that many have left the headquarters without permission of the Registry and are not available for emergency work. A few staff who are available alone have to be deputed for various tasks repeatedly. “Non availability of any individual, at the time of calling, will be treated as a violation of the High Court’s instructions.”

Kuwait offers to airlift stranded Indian citizens

Echoes evacuation proposal from UAE

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

The operation is planned to begin after the lockdown is lifted. File Photo

The Government of Kuwait on Friday said it was willing to evacuate a large number of workers and illegal migrants from India. who are stranded in its territory, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a detailed press statement, the Embassy of Kuwait said the Ambassador of Kuwait Jassem Al Najem has conveyed to India his government’s plans to begin the operations after the nationwide lockdown is lifted.

“The Ambassador highlighted Kuwait’s efforts to evacuate all illegal workers of different nationalities, including Indian nationals who were granted general amnesty by the Kuwaiti government and offered to fetch them back to their respective countries free of cost and by its own civil airlines,” said the embassy in a press note. The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to the Kuwaiti proposal.

The proposal is the second from a Gulf country. A similar idea was presented by the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Ahmed Al Banna on April 10, proposing the evacuation of several thousand Indian nationals from his country.

Relief for illegal workers

The Kuwaiti proposal, however, is significant as it states clearly that the evacuees will include illegal immigrants from India who were found to be residing in Kuwait.

“Kuwait is looking forward to work with the Indian government after the complete lockdown ends on May 3, 2020, in the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic and extraordinary situations the world is witnessing,” the press release said, quoting Mr. Al Najem’s communication with the Indian authorities. The Hindu has reported that India has been planning large-scale evacuations from the Gulf region after the lifting of the lockdown. Wide-bodied aircraft and naval ships have been kept ready for the planned operations.

India’s ties with Kuwait came under a cloud over the last fortnight as a social media campaign began in the Gulf state after a March 2 official communication of the country urged international intervention to safeguard the rights of the Muslim community in India.

Officials on both sides reiterated their commitment to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.

Kuwait has several hundred Indian nationals who have been infected by COVID-19. New Delhi had sent a team of doctors and experts earlier to assist Kuwait in providing treatment to the Indian nationals.

U.P., Bihar migrants can get rations in other States too

The two have joined One Nation One Ration Card scheme, which integrates a total of 17 States & U.T.s

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Migrant labourers transporting food items in New Delhi on Thursday.APManish Swarup

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar joined the Centre’s ration card portability scheme on International Labour Day, offering some hope that their huge migrant worker populations can start accessing subsidised and free foodgrains in many of the States where they have been left stranded by the COVID-19 lockdown.

Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu also joined the national cluster under the Food Ministry’s One Nation One Ration Card scheme on Thursday, taking the total number of integrated States and Union Territories to 17, according to a Food Ministry statement.

The other States which are already part of the national cluster are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura.

June 1 deadline

All remaining States and Union Territories are supposed to come on board by June 1. However, the integration of States is running behind schedule, with a number of remaining States yet to complete installation of electronic point of sale machines at all ration shops and seeding of Aadhaar data into their NFSA databases.

In a mid-April interview, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told The Hindu that “the project has been halted now because of the pandemic”. However, on April 28, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to consider whether it was possible to implement the scheme, keeping in mind the plight of migrants left stranded by the pandemic.

The addition of five new States potentially means nearly 60 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) can now use their ration cards, issued in their home States, to pick up their entitled quota of foodgrains from any ration shop of their choice in these 17 States and Union Territories.

However, the Centre has qualified that actual implementation is still dependent on “on-field readiness”, so it remains to be seen when workers start using the facility. Also, Aadhaar is a precondition for availing this facility as the biometric ID is used to ensure that beneficiaries are not claiming foodgrains in multiple States, above their entitled quota.

The Food Ministry has earlier clarified that a single family holding one ration card can split the locations from where they pick up their ration. If one migrant worker from the family is in a distant city while the rest of the family remains in their home village, both can avail themselves of a 50% portion of the ration allocation in the two different locations by providing ration card and Aadhaar authentication.

The Food Ministry has activated the facility for web-services for inter-State transactions and monitoring through central dashbooards with immediate effect. All 17 States have been requested to formally start seamless portability operations in a single cluster with effect from May 1, “or at the earliest, depending on their on-field readiness”, said the statement.

MHA order on inter-State movement a cruel joke: Cong.

Help MSMEs, make cash transfer to poor: Chidambaram

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Sad plight: Migrant workers waiting to board a special bus in Bengaluru on Friday.Bhagya Prakash. KBhagya Prakash K

The Congress on Friday accused the Union government of ‘mercilessly’ abandoning the migrant labourers and asserted that the Home Ministry’s order allowing the inter-State movement of those stranded was a ‘cruel joke and non-starter’.

The party said the Centre should have provided ₹2,500 crore to the State governments to facilitate a smooth movement of workers.

In a series of tweets, former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram offered his suggestions to the government as well. He noted that the government had listened to some of the suggestions of the Congress. There were more that ‘deserve to be accepted by the government forthwith’, he said.

“Make cash transfers to the bottom half of the families (13 crore families). Provide financial assistance package including wage assistance and credit guarantee to MSMEs. Prepare Exit strategy after current lockdown ends on May 3 and announce a Paycheque Protection Programme for low-salaried tax payers,” he said.

Singhvi’s charge

Addressing an online press conference, Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the Central government’s approach towards the poor was reflected by the ‘mismanagement’ of migrant labourers. “The Centre had mercilessly, cruelly and without a second thought abandoned the entire category of migrant labour,” he alleged.

Mr. Singhvi claimed that U.P. and Bihar alone expected about 42 lakh workers from different parts of the country. Bihar alone expected an estimated 25 lakh workers from States as far as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and they cannot be transported unless special trains were pressed into service. “Is this a solution or madness.” Why the Centre could not arrange special trains earlier like it did with special flights, he asked.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also complained that Railway Minister Piyush Goyal didn’t even take his call to discuss the issue of moving stranded people of West Bengal.

Railways run ‘Shramik Specials’ to ferry stranded

02/05/2020

The five ‘Shramik Special’ trains planned are: Nasik (Maharashtra) to Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Aluva (Kerala) to Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Nasik (Maharashtra) to Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan) to Patna (Bihar) and Kota (Rajasthan) to Hatia (Jharkhand). 

A Railways official stressed that these were special trains planned for people identified and registered by the State governments, and that the Railways would not issue any tickets to any individual or group. “We will allow only those passengers to board whom State government officials will bring to Railway Stations,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“These special trains will be run from point to point on the request of both the concerned State governments as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons,” the Indian Railways said in an official statement.

The passengers would have to be screened by the sending States and only those found asymptomatic would be allowed to travel. In addition, the sending State governments would have to arrange to bring these people in batches in sanitized buses, following social distancing norms and other precautions. “It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear face cover. Meals and drinking water would be provided to the passengers by the sending States at the originating station.”

A Railway official said the fare for these special trains would be based on the fare for Sleeper Mail Express trains, plus ₹30 superfast charge and an additional charge of ₹20. This includes meals and drinking water for long-distance trains. However, passengers are not required to buy the ticket. The fares would be paid by the State governments.

The Railways said the cancellation of all passenger train services would be extended till May 17.

Recovering early

An improved recovery rate is positive news, but reducing new infections is crucial

02/05/2020

Data for COVID-19 is still a long way from giving a complete picture, but it is encouraging that the basic metric of the number of those recovering as a share of confirmed infections is showing improvement in India. The Health Ministry has said that the percentage of recoveries currently stands at just over 25, almost double of what it was two weeks ago. National data on other parameters appear similar to disease trends witnessed globally, with the worst outcomes encountered among elderly patients — translating into a case fatality rate of 51.2% for Indians older than 60. What is important to note, however, is that whether it is recovery or death, not all cases are recorded for a variety of reasons. There may be untested people who have recovered. Also, in the long term, most recover from the infection. It is therefore imperative to find positive cases early and assess the pace of recovery accurately. Among the countries moving to a mass-testing strategy after a measured lockdown and successful control over viral transmission is New Zealand. In terms of deaths, there could be unknown fatalities caused by COVID-19 outside hospitals. Doctors in the United States have made a contrasting determination: of people who had the virus, but died of unrelated causes. These findings and trends underscore the importance of research on the progression of the pandemic in India.

The comparatively low death rate from COVID-19 in India, officially estimated at 3.2%, remains a topic for systematic study. Even accounting for inability to identify all virus-caused deaths and misclassified fatalities, the absence of a large number of severely distressed patients in hospitals stands in contrast to the experience abroad, notably in the U.S., as well as many countries in Europe. The Johns Hopkins database gives the fatalities per 100 confirmed cases as 15.7% for the U.K. and Belgium, for example. There are many hypotheses for the less dismal outcome in India based on the impact of climate, benefits of immunisation, and other possible factors, but they remain untested. While India’s fatalities may be low, and an improved recovery rate will help revive the economy, there is genuine worry that patients with non-COVID-19 conditions are at greater risk for poor health outcomes due to lack of access to care during the pandemic. The public health strategy for COVID-19 has to sharply focus on helping people determine their infection status through widely available testing. This will enable selective quarantining, planning of welfare measures and participation of people who have recovered in trials for potential therapies such as convalescent plasma transfusion. With a relaxation of the lockdown, India’s strategy will need precise and intensive measures to drive down the reproduction number for the virus.

Adopt a cobra for ₹2,000, an elephant for ₹1.75 lakh

Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park offers animals for adoption for a year

02/05/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,BENGALURU

A file photo of a zoo employee feeding ostriches at the Bannerghatta Biological Park. Deepa Kurup

Would you like to adopt an Indian cobra for as low as ₹2,000 per annum or an Asiatic elephant ₹1.75 lakh? Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) has a new programme for people with an interest in conserving wildlife by adopting animals at the zoo.

Certain privileges such as gift voucher for a zoo visit and the display of names on an adoption board would be extended, depending on the amount donated.

“The animal adoption programme is an opportunity for you to get involved with supporting feed and veterinary care expenses for zoo animals with provision for Income Tax rebate under Section 80G. There are 21 elephants that can be adopted online,” said zoo officials.

The BBP has released a list of animals that can be adopted.

Patrons can adopt a King cobra and Indian rock python for ₹3,500 per year, or a jungle cat and the Assamese Macaque for ₹5,000. Adoption of a black buck and sambar will cost you ₹7,500 per year, an emu is billed at ₹10,000, and a spot-billed pelican at ₹15,000.

“The purpose of the adoption programme is to create awareness and connect with people involved in conservation activities, not just generating revenues,” the Executive Director of the government-run BBP, Vanashree Vipin Singh, told PTI on Friday. “We don’t run this programme with a profit motive.”

The zoo, which sees an annual footfall of around 15 lakh persons, has been closed since the middle of March following the lockdown declared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It received a record 23,000 people on a single day on January 1 this year.

The animal adoption initiative is part of the BBPs outreach programme as people are not able to visit the zoo due to the lockdown. In other times, visitors to the zoo can sign up to adopt animals, Ms. Singh said.

Special trains ferry workers home

Labourers leave Kerala, Telangana

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,HYDERABAD

Going home: Police checking papers of workers who want to travel on the train from Aluva on Friday. Vibhu HThe Hindu

In a move to help migrant workers return home, Kerala and Telangana operated special trains on Friday.

One train to Jharkhand was run by the South Central Railway (SCR) and the Telangana government from Hyderabad. In Kerala, the first ‘Shramik Special’ left Aluva for Odisha. The Railways will similarly operate five special trains from Kerala on Saturday.

The train from Hyderabad was arranged for 1,225 labourers hailing from Jharkhand. It had 22 sleeper coaches and left Lingampally in the western suburbs for Hatia, in Ranchi district, at 4.50 a.m.

The workers were brought in 56 buses from construction sites on the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) by the police and the Sangareddy district administration. They were then screened, and their details collected.

Station barricaded

The Lingampally station was barricaded to prevent outsiders from getting in. SCR officials said the operation was taken up at the request of the Telangana government and secrecy was maintained after incidents in Mumbai where rumours brought thousands of labourers to railway stations.

SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya asked the authorities to arrange food and water en route for the 24-hour non-stop journey. In each bogie, about 52 people were accommodated, maintaining social distancing, and Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel were deputed as escort, said Chief PRO Ch. Rakesh.

Tickets were issued to workers, and officials indicated that the Telangana government would meet the expenditure.

Train to Bhubaneswar

The non-stop special carrying 1,140 migrant workers from Aluva in Kerala left for Khurda Road (near Bhubaneswar) on Friday night. It was the first such train for migrant workers stranded in the State. The train with 24 carriages took in 35 to 50 workers per coach as per social distancing norms. Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, District Collector S. Suhas, and District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K. Karthik were present.

Workers from Odisha account for nearly 12% of the migrant workforce in the district. “Migrants from Perumbavur, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam and Kuruppampady were screened and issued medical certificates,” said C. Jayakumar, inspector, Perumbavur.

(With inputs from Kochi Bureau)

Don’t ignore abdominal symptoms

02/05/2020

The abdomen is a Pandora’s box” is a well-known phrase described by many surgeons around the world. Abdominal pain has always been a tricky symptom to assess. And now, during this lockdown, we are getting a lot more calls from our patients complaining of abdominal symptoms. These may vary from simple gastritis-like pain to acute/severe abdominal pain. These symptoms need to be evaluated and their medical history studied before the diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Abdominal discomfort has been identified as one of the less common symptoms of the COVID-19 infection. Recent literature has revealed that about 20% of patients report to the hospital with a digestive symptom, such as diarrhoea, vomiting and/or pain, accompanying their respiratory symptoms. And roughly 5% show up with abdominal complaints alone. A study in China found that a third of the people with mild COVID-19 experienced diarrhoea that lasted, on an average, five days. It took them longer to clear the virus from their bodies, compared to those without gastrointestinal symptoms.

So, when should a patient with abdominal symptoms visit a hospital? If the pain or associated symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating or fever show an increasing trend over a few hours since the onset, it is better to consult a specialist at the hospital.

Any acute abdominal pain could mean that the patiet may have an intestinal obstruction, infection or inflammation of the appendix, gallbladder stones causing infection and pus within the biliary tract, intestinal perforations and more. These signs would be intolerable and will limit regular activity or movement.

How do we diagnose once we see you? It’s a combination of complete history taking and clinical examination with blood tests and radiological tests like USG abdomen or CT abdomen. Once diagnosed, treatment choices are offered which may be medical or surgical in nature. In some situations, emergency surgery may be recommended to avoid further sepsis as this may hamper the overall outcome of the treatment and life of a person.

Delayed consultation

About 90% of these procedures can be completed by laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) which is a minimally-invasive method of performing surgeries. Most of these patients get discharged within two days and are able to do their routine work soon. When there is a significant delay between onset of symptoms and arrival at the hospital, that is where the chances of performing these procedures through the keyhole method decreases and the rate of complication rises. But during this current situation, I am sure you are probably wondering how safe it is for people to visit the hospital. All hospitals are taking utmost precautions to safeguard the health and safety of their patients and, of course, the healthcare workers. Effective screening of every person, including doctors and staff, is performed as they enter the hospital on a daily basis. All patients are screened and their attenders screened. If anyone has any suspected symptom related to COVID-19, they are isolated and admitted in specialised isolation suites till the test results are out.

All patients undergoing surgery are tested for COVID-19 and all healthcare staff dealing with the patients wear full personal protective equipment while treating or handling these patients, even if the results of tests for COVID-19 are negative. Patients who are recuperating from surgery must take extra precautions as their general immunity will be a bit more compromised.

People must stay at home if they are fine and healthy, eat healthy food and indulge in some form of exercising like walking and breathing exercises within the house to keep themselves fit. Physical distancing is a very important principle to follow during this period but in the case of an abdominal or a gastrointestinal (GI) emergency, healthcare distancing need not be practised. The best outcomes in all these GI emergencies can be fully achieved if the patient reports early to the hospital.

(The author is the Clinical Lead of the Department of Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery at MGM Healthcare)

Search Committee for VC post the hindu 2.5.2020

23 year-old house surgeon found dead in KMC hostel

02/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

A 23-year-old woman house surgeon was found dead in her hostel room at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Friday.

Since the lockdown has been in force, she came from her house in Perambur and was staying in the hostel from April 14. According to hospital authorities, she was a CRRI and joined duty on April 18.

On Friday, she did not come out from her room nor respond to anyone. Police personnel broke the door down and rushed her to the hospital, where she was declared brought dead.

Hospital authorities confirmed that her swabs tested negative for COVID-19. However, post-mortem findings were inconclusive, they said, and added, “The cause of death is not immediately known.”